Tim, what a wonderful post. I felt a wave of nostalgia as you recalled those early days so many of us shared as volunteer MFs. The excitement and pride of being part of a world-changing mission, (the free AOL account back when usage was metered!), the irreverent hangout on MF Only boards, even the drama of the "Sunday Night Massacre" when the Fool learned it could no longer use volunteer workers... and then, the sheer pleasure at learning we'd actually be *paid* for doing something we'd happily keep doing for free :-)

Did we ever know, back then, that someday this would grow into the business it is today? Probably if we thought about it, we neglected to include the very realities of business that we wrote about every day -- operating margins, positive cash flow, revenue growth. Now those realities have smacked us awake -- and so many friends have been left on the dock... amazingly, waving good wishes at the remaining ship of Fools as we sail into the next phase. You, Tim, are a testament to the good nature/good nuture that TMF fostered among all its original MFers.

This Fool will sorely miss seeing "TMF DrT" on the boards. Even though you'll still be around posting from time to time, as you said - it's different now. Thank you for your friendship, for all your good work, and for being a part of we few... we happy few, who can say we were there.

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